For a time in the late 1980s, the young couple was inseparable, but his inability to cope with his blindness ended the short, albeit intense, relationship.

But more than 20 years after their teenage romance ended in messy fashion -- and with the help of a private investigator -- the couple is married, own their own business and started a funk/rock band, Beyond Sight.

Beyond Sight is the quintet of keyboard/vocalist Rhonda Selby Scott, drummer/vocalist Steven Scott, bassist/vocalist Danny Ferguson, rhythm guitarist/vocalist John Rose and guitarist/vocalist Jarod Knuth. The group formed in February and played its first gig in April. Its founders, the Scotts, are blind.

"We've taken off with guns a'blazin'," Steven Scott said of the band. "We've been fortunate. This is not an easy scene to break into ... We're getting received very well. It's exciting and humbling at the same time."

'One of those sappy love stories'

Steven Scott was born and raised in upstate New York. The outgoing, charismatic boy started playing drums at 14.

Diagnosed with congenital glaucoma at five months old, Scott went through 23 eye surgeries, including the removal of his right eye at 5. While living in Kalamazoo as a teenager, Scott experienced headaches and other problems with his left eye. Doctors gave him two options: Undergo another surgery to temporarily ease the discomfort or remove the left eye.

Scott, then 17, opted for the latter. Rhonda Selby sat by his side prior to the surgery to remove his eye. She was diagnosed with retinoblastoma, or cancer of the retinas, at four months old and was blind before turning 2. She was 18 when they first met.

Selby grew up a shy, introverted girl in Dorr. She started playing piano at 7.

"It was huge. Living in Dorr, there wasn't a lot going on. I
spent a lot of time alone playing music," she said.

They were introduced by a mutual friend and first talked over the phone. Steven said they made an immediate connection.

"It started as a teen romance, you know. It was pretty deep stuff. Deep teenage love, but it was real," Rhonda Shelby Scott said. "We were pretty inseparable. It tore me up pretty bad when things went wrong."

Steven didn't adjust well to being completely blind, despite constant support from Rhonda. Their relationship ended and Steven moved back to New York after a year-and-a-half in Kalamazoo.

"I struggled with that (blindness). I became very depressed and angry. I
was not a very nice person," he said.

Years later, Steven said, he couldn't get Rhonda out of his mind. Guilt over how he treated her prompted him to try to locate her. Several online searches failed, so he hired a private investigator to track her down.

"She left a good mark on my life," Steven said. "I wanted to apologize for being a teenage prick."

He said he wanted to make amends, nothing more.

Fate had other plans.

The investigator found Rhonda almost 20 years after their breakup. Rhonda and Steven talked over the phone.

"It was one of the sweetest things ever," Rhonda said of Steven's efforts.

"It's one of those sappy love stories," Steven joked.

Entering a 'new world'

Steven decided to move back to Kalamazoo in April 2007 to be with Rhonda. They married in June, 2009. The couple co-owns Something For All Seasons, a Portage business that specializes in small engine repair on outdoor power equipment.

This Christmas, Rhonda bought her husband a used drum kit on Craigslist. They repaired it together.

Steven, who continued to play music for years before moving back to Kalamazoo, said he wanted to get his drumming chops back, so went to Guitar Center to find out about lessons. He eventually jammed with local musicians.

In February, the Scotts, both 43, started their own band. Rhonda, who studied music at Lansing Community College in the '80s and
played in several Kalamazoo bands from 1992-2002, brings classical and
jazz influences. Steven leans toward rock. Although it's called Beyond Sight, the Scotts said the band name is more about our culture's visual dependency, not blindness.

"It has nothing to do with being blind. Our thought process
behind Beyond Sight is if it's not in front of their face and people can't see
it with their eyes, they can't understand it," Steven said.

The band performs a few originals -- they're currently giving out a three-song demo at shows -- and covers not typically performed by other bands. For example, Beyond Sight plays Billy Joel's "Moving Out (Anthony's Song) and "Sara Smile" by Hall & Oates, among others.

Steven said they may draw some attention from bar patrons when they are guided on stage or led into venues by friends or bandmates as they carry equipment, but the feedback is more focused on the music rather than their blindness.

New bassist Danny Ferguson, who joined the group two weeks ago, said he usually relies on visual cues when playing with others. He said Rhonda and Steven are so focused and in tune, they're able to follow each other by listening.

“I really thought we might struggle a little bit here and there, but I don’t worry about it at all with them. It’s as if they can see me," Ferguson said. “I think they’re both incredible musicians and I’m more than happy to be playing with them.”

The couple's small business keeps them busy enough. Music is a "great outlet" for them, Rhonda said.

"A bad day at band practice beats a good day at work any day," added Steven.

The band, which plans to begin recording a full-length album in the coming months, is an escape and "stress reliever," Rhonda said.